Warren council urged to approve bond issue Sept. 25

Staff report

WARREN

The mayor’s office hopes that Warren City Council will approve legislation at its Sept. 25 meeting to borrow $9.5 million through the sale of bonds to purchase a building for city services, renovate existing buildings and improve city streets.

Enzo Cantalamessa, Warren safety-service director, said at a Council Finance Committee meeting earlier this week that all but one part of the bond issue is ready as soon as council approves it.

The one part that is not ready is the possible purchase of an as-yet- unidentified building.

Negotiations to purchase the building are ongoing, so the building is not being identified, Cantalamessa said.

It’s possible the negotiations will be complete in time for the Sept. 25 meeting. But if they are not, that part of the bond issue will have to wait, he said.

The finance committee is planning to meet again next week to further discuss the matter, including more discussion of whether the repayment of the bond issue would span 10 years or 15 years.

The bonds would be $2.5 million for roads, mostly neighborhood streets; $3 million for renovations to existing buildings; and $4 million to buy and equip a new building to house the health department, community-development department and income- tax department.

They currently are housed in the Community Services Building at 418 Main Street, which is old and would be costly to renovate, Cantalamessa said.